Chittagong has been the land of possibilities since time immemorial where iconic business houses like A K Khan, GM Plant, GEC, GSK, Liver Brothers, Elite Paint, BSRM etc. were set up.
By Asaduzzaman
Set in London and Paris, before and during the French Revolution, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the native aristocracy leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period. In a nutshell, this book entails the story of transformation of two cities amidst hope and despair.
Interesting enough, the port city Chittagong is witnessing a similar kind of transformation. The city was the nativity land of armed revolutions against the British in 1930s and witnessed the announcement of the birth of Bangladesh as an independent country on 26th March, 1971.
Chittagong has been the land of possibilities since time immemorial where iconic business houses like A K Khan, GM Plant, GEC, GSK, Liver Brothers, Elite Paint, BSRM etc. were set up. These companies have thrived and in course of time, emerge as leaders of individual sectors. As Dr. Hossain Zillaur Rahman has identified that it is a 25+ billion dollar economy and handling 80% of exports and imports and is contributing 25% of government revenues. Being into action as trading port since around 9th century, it exhibits around 40% of heavy industrial activities, including dry dock, shipyards, oil refineries, steel, automobile, cement, urea, textile, cable mfg, chemicals, pharma, power plants. Chittagong is the 2nd largest city as well as 2nd RMG hub and is enriched with an internationally competitive EPZ. He also cited that there are emerging industries driver like ship-building, steel, tourism, etc. He also identify that Chittagong is a conglomeration of four economic corridors: first North-west: Dhaka-Chittagong Growth Corridor, North: Gateway to Indian 7-Sister states, East and South-east: Regional connectivity to Southern China and ASEAN and a maritime corridor to Bay of Bengal and global economy. So it is almost no news that Chittagong is just away from one more push to get there to attain the status of a global city like Singapore.
In this connection, I would like to mention about a seminal book written by Misbahuddin Khan, who served there for at least three decades. “History of the Port of Chittagong” is the anthology where he states that boat building was an important industry of Chittagong and in the 16th and 17th Centuries, galleys for the Sultan of Turkey were built here and as the beginning of the 19th century vessels of even 1000 tons were launched from its yards. Depicting the ins and outs of the port from 1888 to 1947, he articulated that “the present facilities and the layout of the port would have been different if the responsibilities of the planning for its development were given to the port administration i.e. the commissioners for the port of Chittagong, a statutory body established in 1988 to run the administration of the port under the provisions of the Bengal Act 19887. There are many harbors in the world but all of them are not ports which in ancient times were a place and refuge for the ships that was used both for military and commercial purpose but a port means a collection of anchorages, basins, docks, quay, services by warehouse and inland transport and market facilities. Besides being a dynamic port, that of Chittagong is an excellent harbor too.
Recently a seminar held at Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), Dhaka had a session titled “Strengthening institutions to accelerate growth and lower poverty case of Bangladesh”. Famous economist Mohiuddin Alamgir was the key note speaker where the theme was “Grow Bangladesh Grow, as faster as you can”. The luminaries and international academicians of Bangladesh talked frankly about the possibilities of the country. The keynote speaker who has hands on experiences to work in many countries said that growth Bangladesh exhibiting now is very ruthless and it is like a running tank that can destroy many things, create new opportunities and avenues. Though growth has opportunity cost and environmental values but there is no alternative of it. Instead of having many bottlenecks, he was optimistic that by 2050 Bangladesh will become a developed country with per capita income of $20,000 at the constant price of 2010, where poverty will be almost zero. He emphasized on reforms in politico-socio-economic and financial institutions. He urged about the capacity building of public administrationtoo. Another renowned economist, Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmood said though the development of Bangladesh comes as a surprise to many but it’s a reality no one can ignore. We need to work hard to make the best use of the hardworking nature and resilience of the people of our country.
In a reception meeting at Chittagong in 1904, Viceroy Lord Curzon said that this region would prosper and take its due share in Asia in days to come. His views certainly hold some water. To be honest, it might seem like a mere mimicry of Lord Curzon if I say Chittagong has every possibility to become a global city under the leadership of next generation of leaders, visionaries and doers.
Asaduzzaman is the feature writer of ICE Business Times.
